ERIC PHENDLER
Contact Information : 819-452-1492
Email : [email protected]
Education :
Biodiversity and Ecology Major. Bishop's University (2022)
Environmental Sciences and Geography Minor. Bishop's University (2022)
Contact Information : 819-452-1492
Email : [email protected]
Education :
Biodiversity and Ecology Major. Bishop's University (2022)
Environmental Sciences and Geography Minor. Bishop's University (2022)
Research details |
We aim to identify the driving force behind disruptive selection in a population of Eastern chipmunks (Tamias striatus). This population has been intensively studied since 2004, exploring everything from population genetics, anti-predator decision-making, age of first reproduction, and anticipation of pulsed resources to individual determinants of bot fly parasitism. One of the principal avenues of research on these sites is individual variability in traits and their correlated fitness within the population. These studies have identified a strong disruptive selective pressure favouring adult individuals that fall on the extreme ends of the spectrum, with individuals possessing mid-range traits selected against with no advantage in either mast or non-mast years. Our study proposes that with ad-lib. food supplies, we should be able to remove the heterogeneity of the primary source of food and income (the American Beech (Fagus grandifolia)) of the Eastern chipmunk and replace it with a steady source of nutrients. Once we remove the primary selective pressure, we can then measure the behavioural and physical phenotypes of the study population through extensive trapping and testing. By doing so, we expect to induce a relaxed selection within the environment, thus proving that the disruptive selection now observed in this population is caused by the spatial and temporal heterogeneity in the environment.
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